Dream Girls

Does the name Sheeba ring a bell? No,it’s not a desi comic book hero we are talking about here,not a local bicycle brand either. Not even a muscled,moustache-ed,blingy wonder we call a south Indian hero. If you have not heard of a film named Yeh Aag Kab Bujhegi then you need to be introduced to the ’80s interpretation of a sex bomb. Ample thighs,ampler eyebrows and crown of blow-dried mane occasionally made into a ‘top-knot’ with a printed synthetic handkerchief. Throw in a faux leather mini and a bikini cut top,and voila – you have your Sheeba prototype. You might think that’s another thing that the organizers of a central Kolkata Puja invited ’80s sensation Sheeba to inaugurate their Kali Puja,but the city’s tryst with forgotten heroines seem to be lasting longer than we had expected. Take for example Preeti Jhangiani or Bhagyasree for that matter. While Bhagyashree’s still has a two-decade-old blockbuster to her credit,its difficult to recollect a single film that Jhangiani made memorable. “It’s the whole Bollywood tag I think. And memorable or not,they at least fly down from the hallowed Mumbai. And speak in broken Bengali claiming their undying love for mishti doi,” says Gargi Banerjee,an employee with a Delhi-based publishing house.

Jaya Prada,easily embodies the city’s infatuation with all things Bollywood. The actor,well past her prime,has made numerous visits to the city to inaugurate Pujas – Durga and Kali Puja. “It also has to do with the fact that people like Jaya Prada are nationally recognized. Bringing them lends a certain edge to a Puja. It’s also true that we all jostle in a crowd to get a glimpse of even Preeti Jhangiani,though we would probably not watch her films,” says Nirmalya Majumder,a short filmmaker.

The hustle-bustle,the whole security system put in place for a Mumbai actress is also what creates a buzz about the Puja. “All you get to know is that there was a huge crowd at so and so pandal. Naturally,the footfall increases. That won’t happen if you get a local celebrity to do the inauguration,” says Rajarshi Bose,a media studies student. The media too just helps adding the icing to the Bollywood cake. “Local celebrities always suffer from over exposure. You see them on TV,their pictures in the paper every other day. The local media,is naturally not interested in featuring them yet again in their channels and supplements,” says Abhirup Dam,a cultural studies student. And who doesn’t want his 15 seconds of stardom,peeking from behind the auburn,poker straight crowning glory of our tinsel damsel? If there’s a sure shot was of ‘coming on TV’,it has to be a Preeti Jhangiani or Bhagyashree declaring ‘ami Kolkata bhalobashe’ between fanning their make-up and flicking their ironed tresses.